Johannesburg: Axed official takes on premier

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Axed official takes on premier

Yolandi Groenewald | Johannesburg, South Africa

29 April 2006 06:00

North West Premier Edna Molewa has fired her suspended agriculture
department head, Emily Mogajane. But Mogajane has hit back by taking the
premier to court. This is the latest episode in ongoing upheavals in the
department of agriculture, conservation and environment, where six
officials have been suspended and four directors arrested following a
forensic investigation into corruption. Mogajanes supporters, including
the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union, believe she has
been victimised because she commissioned the audit.

Mogajane, South Africas first black vet, applied last week to the Mafikeng
High Court to have her dismissal set aside. The plea, which names Molewa
and North West agriculture minister Eliot Mayisela as respondents, was
postponed to May 11. Molewa axed Mogajane three weeks ago on grounds that
she had polarised the management and staff of the department, leading to
infighting and had continuously, during her suspension, continued to issue
negative statements about government in the media. The premier also
accused Mogajane of flatly refusing an offer to negotiate her exit when
informed of the terrible, undesirable and unbearable relations that
currently exist between yourself and the government.

Mogajane was suspended last August, in the same week as a cabinet
reshuffle that also saw her minister, Duma Ndleleni, redeployed. The
official reason was that she had told senior management and academics at
the Potchefstroom Agricultural College that the province would terminate
Afrikaans as a medium of instruction from the beginning of 2006.  The
comments were widely covered in the media and sparked outrage among
Afrikaners. Mogajane claimed her remarks were quoted out of context and
that she was merely referring to a report on language policy at the
college. Mogajane is currently under the National Prosecuting Authoritys
protection, after she provided information on corruption in the North
West.

Despite her dismissal, she emerged unscathed from an internal disciplinary
hearing relating to her language comments, as the hearing did not take
place within the required 60 days after her suspension. The suspension was
set aside on February 22. In her court papers last week, she said she had
reported for duty the next day, as she understood that the ruling had
lifted her suspension. However, Mayisela told her to go home. Later she
was told to report for duty on March 6. The minister then in-formed her
that he had taken a decision to review the chairpersons ruling and
instructed me that I was to go home and not to resume work.

Mogajane then filed an urgent application asking the Labour Court to
declare the North West governments refusal to allow her to resume duties
unlawful. The application was dismissed, Mogajane said, because she had
been placed in a favourable position by continuing to earn a salary while
staying at home. In the dismissal letter, Molewa says service delivery has
suffered because of the dispute between Mogajane and the government.
Mogajane argues in the court papers that she cannot be blamed for poor
service delivery because she has been barred from her office. Molewas
spokesperson, Cornelius Monama, said he did not find it appropriate to
engage with Mogajane on her dismissal via the media.

However, he added: We reject the insinuation that by dismissing Dr
Mogajane, the provincial government undermined the fight against
corruption in the department.


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